On September 21, 2022, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously advanced the Securing Open Source Software Act of 2022. Introduced by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), the bill represented Congress's most direct legislative response to the open source supply chain crisis that Log4Shell had made impossible to ignore.
The bill doesn't regulate open source developers. Instead, it directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to play a more active role in securing the open source ecosystem that the federal government — and by extension, nearly every organization — depends on.
What the Bill Proposes
The Securing Open Source Software Act contains several key provisions:
CISA as Open Source Security Coordinator
The bill directs CISA to hire staff with open source development experience and to develop a framework for assessing the risk of open source components used by the federal government. This is significant because it creates a dedicated government function focused specifically on open source security.
Risk Assessment Framework
CISA would be required to develop a framework for evaluating the security of open source software, taking into account factors like:
- The prevalence of the component in federal systems
- The component's vulnerability history
- The number and activity of maintainers
- The security practices of the project (code review, testing, signing)
- Dependencies on other open source components
Vulnerability Disclosure Coordination
The bill supports improved coordination between the open source community and the federal government on vulnerability disclosure and response. This includes supporting the development of tools and processes for identifying and communicating about vulnerabilities in open source software.
Federal Government as Contributor
Perhaps most notably, the bill encourages the federal government to contribute back to the open source ecosystem — not just consume it. This includes contributing code, funding, and security expertise to critical open source projects.
The Context: Why Now
The bill emerged from a series of events that made open source security a congressional priority:
The Log4Shell crisis (December 2021) demonstrated that a single vulnerability in a widely-used open source library could threaten the entire digital economy. The fact that Log4j was maintained largely by volunteers working in their spare time crystallized the "tragedy of the commons" problem in open source.
The White House Open Source Security Summit (January 2022) brought together leaders from major tech companies, the Linux Foundation, and the Apache Software Foundation to discuss open source security. The summit produced commitments to fund critical open source projects and improve security practices.
Senate hearings on Log4Shell (February 2022) featured testimony from open source community members, industry executives, and government officials. Brad Arkin from Cisco told the committee that Log4j was "embedded into hundreds of products" and that even months later, many organizations were still discovering affected systems.
What the Bill Doesn't Do
Understanding the bill's limitations is as important as understanding its provisions:
It doesn't regulate open source developers. The bill explicitly avoids placing requirements on individual open source contributors or projects. This was a deliberate decision to avoid chilling open source development.
It doesn't mandate SBOM requirements. While SBOMs are complementary to the bill's goals, the SBOM mandate comes from Executive Order 14028 and OMB guidance, not this legislation.
It doesn't create enforcement mechanisms. The bill is primarily about building government capacity and frameworks, not about penalizing non-compliance.
It doesn't address the funding gap directly. While it encourages government contribution to open source, it doesn't create a dedicated funding mechanism for critical open source projects.
Implications for the Industry
Even though the bill is focused on federal government use of open source, its effects would ripple through the entire industry:
Standardized Risk Assessment
If CISA develops a widely-adopted framework for assessing open source component risk, it could become the de facto standard for the private sector as well. This would help address the current fragmentation where every organization uses different criteria for evaluating open source risk.
Critical Project Identification
The bill's requirement for CISA to identify and assess critical open source components could produce a public list of projects that are important to national infrastructure. This list could drive both government and private-sector investment in securing those projects.
Career Paths in Open Source Security
By directing CISA to hire open source security expertise, the bill creates formal government positions focused on open source security. This legitimizes the field and could help attract talent.
Procurement Implications
Federal procurement processes would increasingly require vendors to demonstrate awareness of and compliance with the open source risk framework. Federal contractors and suppliers would need to implement open source governance programs.
The Broader Legislative Landscape
The Securing Open Source Software Act is one piece of a broader legislative push on software supply chain security:
- Executive Order 14028 (May 2021) established the SBOM mandate and directed NIST to develop supply chain security guidelines
- OMB M-22-18 (September 2022) required software producers selling to the federal government to self-attest to secure development practices
- The EU Cyber Resilience Act (proposed September 2022) would impose security requirements on software products sold in the EU, including open source components
- The CHIPS and Science Act (signed August 2022) included provisions for semiconductor supply chain security
Together, these legislative and regulatory actions signal a permanent shift in how governments approach software supply chain security.
What Organizations Should Do
Regardless of whether the bill passes in its current form, the direction is clear. Organizations should:
- Inventory their open source usage. Know what open source components you use, where they come from, and who maintains them.
- Assess critical dependencies. Identify the open source components that are most critical to your operations and evaluate their security posture.
- Contribute to open source security. If your organization depends on open source software (and it does), contribute resources — code, funding, or security audits — to the projects you depend on.
- Prepare for procurement requirements. If you sell to the federal government, start building the documentation and processes to demonstrate open source governance.
- Engage with the process. Comment on proposed frameworks, participate in public feedback periods, and share your organization's perspective with policymakers.
How Safeguard.sh Helps
Safeguard.sh aligns directly with the risk assessment framework envisioned by the Securing Open Source Software Act. Our platform automatically inventories open source components across your software portfolio, assesses their security posture based on factors like maintainer activity, vulnerability history, and project health, and provides continuous monitoring for new risks. For organizations preparing for federal procurement requirements, Safeguard.sh generates the documentation and evidence needed to demonstrate robust open source governance.